In Hiding

Summary: Korra tried hard not to think about Kuvira living in a jail cell waiting for her trial to start – until she finds her sitting on her bed, looking for a place to hide. Set after series finale.

Chapter 4

Korra stirred awake as she heard movement outside of her door. "How'd this get here?" she whispered as she pushed a light blue quilt off of herself. She watched as a shadow bent down briefly before standing back up. She yawned, before rolling over on her side. She heard Kuvira lightly stir from up above her on the bed. A split second later, Korra scrambled to her feet, muttering out a soft, "shit".

She walked over to the door, on the tips of her toes as to not to wake Kuvira with the creaking floors, before slowly inching the door open. She looked down at the ground and noticed the tray was gone. She quickly slammed the door shut.

Kuvira shot up in the bed with her fists raised. Her long black hair was full of twists and curls. Once she saw Korra, who was looking at her in concern, she relaxed before laying back down. "What's going on?" she asked.

"I don't know," Korra answered. "Hopefully nothing, but I can't be too sure."

"What do you mean?"

Korra walked over and took a seat at the end of the bed. Kuvira shifted over so, to give her some more space. "We're not supposed to eat in our rooms, and like an idiot and placed the tray outside of the door last night. Well, it wasn't dumb. I just didn't want any animals to come in-"

"So, what's the problem?" Kuvira interrupted. She had an arm resting on the bridge of her nose, covering her eyes.

"The problem is," Korra stressed, "I just saw someone take the tray away and I was covered in that quilt."

Kuvira sighed hard before sitting up in the bed once more. She rubbed her eyes before nodding in the direction of Korra's makeshift bedding. "I put it there," she muttered.

"What?"

"You were shivering in the middle of the night," she answered quietly. Kuvira threw the covers off of herself before dangling her legs off of the side of the bed. She reached for the brush on the nearby table and started to attack the knots. "I found it in the armoire. I put it on you."

"Okay, that answers that, but anyone could have poked their head in when they found the tray," Korra continued.

Kuvira winced as she tugged on a knot of hair. She reached up and yanked it from her scalp, wincing at the sting, before dropping the small bundle to the floor. "Well, until someone confronts you or comes into this room, I don't see an issue," she said with a shrug.

"You're awfully calm for someone who's on the run," Korra commented.

"I would have been caught by now if I didn't have my emotions in check."

Korra stiffened as she heard a sound in the distance. She lowered her head and strained to hear a soft sound. It had caught her attention since it gradually got louder. The louder the sound got the faster it moved. "Oh shoot!"

"Now what?" Kuvira demanded.

"Get under the bed," she instructed. Kuvira instantly stopped brushing her hair and looked over at Korra who was holding the door closed. Kuvira stomped a foot to the ground and closed her eyes. After a second, she dropped the brush and rolled herself underneath the bed as soon as Korra stepped back and the door flung open.

"KoKo!" Rohan shouted as he rushed over to her. He shrieked excitedly as he hugged her legs.

"Hey, little man," Korra greeted him happily. She picked him up and held him in his arms. Rohan rubbed his eyes as she surveyed her bedroom door for damages. "You sure are getting strong, aren't you?" she commented. She lightly tickled his stomach. Rohan giggled and squirmed in her arms.

"I hope he didn't wake you," Pema said as she stepped into the room. "I turned my head for one second and he just took off."

"No, I was already up," Korra answered. She closed her eyes as Rohan placed his hands into her face. He crawled up onto her back before settling himself on her shoulders. Korra tickled the bottoms of his feet as he grabbed onto her ears to hold himself up.

"Was Asami here?" Pema asked.

"What makes you say that?" Korra demanded. She continued to mess with Rohan for a bit more before pulling him off of her shoulders and setting him onto the ground. He instantly ran over to her bed and climbed on top of it.

"Well your bed is unmade, there is another makeshift bed on the ground, and you left the tray outside of your door," Pema pointed out. "It's not the first time you two have had a sleepover. I know the signs."

"Right," Korra said slowly. "Yes, she was here. She's taking a shower." She rubbed the back of her neck

"Oh, well, breakfast is ready." Pema then smiled slyly. "And next time, if you want to sneak food back here, don't leave the evidence outside of the door. I don't want Tenzin to know I've been allowing your midnight snacks."

"I'll keep that in mind," Korra said as she laughed nervously. Pema regarded her with a raised eyebrow before a squeaking sound caught her attention.

"Rohan, get down from there," Pema ordered gently as she crossed the room. "We don't jump on the bed, remember?" Korra winced every time the little boy bounced off of the mattress. It dipped a bit low in the middle and the avatar was sure that Kuvira was inches away from being stepped on. Pema scooped him up and placed him on the ground.

Korra ruffled Rohan's hair as he ran past and out the door. Once Pema left the room, she slid the bedroom door closed and leaned against it, letting out a huge sigh of relief. "That was a close one," she commented as Kuvira slowly pulled herself out from under the bed.

"That kid almost broke my spine," she said with a deadpan. "He's stronger than he should be for someone his age."

"Master Katara thinks he'll be a bender just like their other children," Korra answered with a soft smile.

"Will they barge in here too?" Kuvira looked down at bed with a look of discomfort. The Avatar bit back a laugh.

"Normally they do, but seeing as Pema is up I'm sure they've been wrestled into the kitchen at this point."

"I'm sorry," Kuvira said as she sat on the bed once more. She brushed at the dust on the clothing.

"For what?" Korra asked. She crossed the room before sitting opposite of Kuvira. Their knees touched lightly. Kuvira instantly backed away, giving her space before sitting up as straight as possible. She brushed her bangs out of her face and looked Korra straight in the eye.

'For causing you great stress for being here, and for snapping at you earlier about you being cautious," she answered. "You're going through great lengths to help me and I shouldn't be pushing against it." Kuvira lowered her head and traced the pattern of threading on the bed spread. "I'm not much of a morning person," she admitted quietly, "especially when someone else wakes me up."

"See, we do have things in common," Korra said with a small laugh. "I don't like mornings either. My morning usually starts around 2pm." She frowned when she noticed Kuvira wince after taking a breath. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Better, thank you," Kuvira answered.

Korra nodded once before reaching a hand up. Kuvira flinched before she felt the Avatar's light touch on her cheek. She was poking at the faint bruising at the top of her cheek bone that extended up and around her eye.

"Your eye looks like it's healing well," Korra muttered. She trailed her thumb over the fading bruise. She pressed on it lightly, to check for any swelling or cracks in the bone of her eye socket. She then grabbed a hold of Kuvira's chin and tilted her head from side to side. "Just checking for signs of a concussion or something else, but all seems normal," she explained. Kuvira stared back at Korra but remained silent. "Your lip looks to be healing perfectly as well." Korra smiled softly, her blue eyes shining in the sunlight that seeped through a small crack in the curtains. "Will you lift up your shirt for me?"

Kuvira nodded before rolling up the bottom of the blue tank top up to the bottom of her bosom. Her pale skin was spotted with healing bruises in various places, the biggest mark being on her left side. It was darker than the other bruises but did look like it was healing. Korra lightly placed her hand on Kuvira's side. She slowly moved her hand towards her flank, where the brusing look to wrap around her side, before Kuvira flinched and moved away, while her skin broke out in goose bumps. Korra looked up and noticed that Kuvira had turned away, and was biting her lower lip. A very faint coloring of pink was splattered on the top of her cheek bones. "Sorry, I didn't mean to tickle you," Korra said with amusement.

"You didn't," Kuvira quickly denied. She cleared her throat twice. "Your hands are just ice cold, and that area is still a bit sore."

"Does it hurt when you breathe?" Korra motioned for her to roll her shirt back down. "You were coughing a bit when you got here."

"A little bit."

"You may have a partially collapsed lung." Korra tapped her chin. "There's someone I know who could help. The trouble is finding her and getting her here. She tends to move from place to place."

"No," Kuvira said harshly. "No one else can know I'm here."

"I know," Korra answered gently, "but this woman would be the last person to judge someone. I'm sure, even though it is you, she will be helpful." Kuvira eyed Korra closely. She didn't sense that the girl was lying, and from past encounters, she knew that the Avatar tends to have her heart on her sleeve.

"How did you end up like that?" Korra asked quietly. "With all of your bruising and injuries?"

Kuvira shifted on the bed, looking uncomfortable. "When I had first arrived in jail, I wasn't put in solitary confinement," she explained. "I was in a holding area with other inmates. Some knew how to chi block so they performed it on me and jumped me. They called me a monster and a traitor to the well being of the Earth Kingdom. I couldn't fight them off."

"Didn't the police help you?"

"No," Kuvira scoffed, "they didn't try to stop it. After what seemed like hours I was just lying there on the ground, and then my bending came back. I could feel the shift. The police only came in and intervened when I broke down the metal bars to the jail cell and attacked everyone with it."

"So, that was when they moved you?" Korra questioned.

"No." Kuvira shook her head slowly. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. That was when Korra really took note of her. She looked exhausted, and her past physical build didn't look as muscular as it used to. "They didn't move me until a few weeks later. They at first moved me to a wooden cell, and I was jumped again."

"They should have medical staff on hand to heal you and the other inmates," she said. "Even if you were arrested you should received free medical care. Heck, it wouldn't surprise me if some people got arrested on purpose just to receive it."

"They do and they did," Kuvira answered. "They have healers on hand and they healed me up and sent me to solitary confinement. I was only allowed to leave for an hour a day and it was to step outside and get some fresh air." She reached up and moved the curtains away from the window, only enough so that she could peer out. Kuvira wilted a bit when she saw the clear blue sky. "The other inmates got smart. They started to jump me on a rotational basis. Only leaving bruises and injuries where it could easily be hidden."

"So how did you end up with those?" Korra motioned towards her with a nod of her head.

"It was a few days before the electric problem and my escape." Kuvira let go of the curtain and watched as it sung back into place. "Up until that point, I would be evaluated for my health every week, just like everyone else and I would be healed. So that was the rotation: I'd be beaten up one week, healed the next, and then beaten up again. Over and over." She coughed harshly. "Except this time, I wasn't healed. The healers were called to the hospital in the city for some reason. I was attacked like usual but it was worse because I still wasn't healed from the last time. There was no way I could have fought back even if they didn't chi-block me. I was just too weak."

Before either of them could say anything else, there was a sharp knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Korra called out.

"Chief Beifong," came a harsh reply. "We are searching the entire premises. Kuvira has escaped from jail, and we believe she has taken up refuge here."

Korra swallowed slowly as Kuvira looked at her. The expression on her face had said it all. The Avatar had only seen it once before: when she was trying to get the Earth Kingdom native to turn off the Spirit Ray and found that it had malfunctioned. It was the same look she had when she was staring straight into the barrel of the gun, before Korra was able to bend the spirit energy away from them.

Kuvira was scared.